Okay, so today I decided to tackle the “Pressed Hard” crossword from the NYT. I’ve been doing these crosswords on and off for a while, and some days they just flow, and other days… well, let’s just say I end up staring at a lot of blank squares.
I started by printing out the puzzle. Yeah, I’m old school like that. I like to have it in front of me, so I can make a good mess on the paper. I find it helps to grab a good pen – I love using a good solid 0.5mm ballpoint.
Then came the hard part. I scanned the clues, looking for any immediate gimmes. You know, the ones that just pop into your head. There were a couple of those, thankfully! A few short fill-in-the-blanks and some common phrases that I could pencil in right away.
After that initial sweep, things got tougher. I had to start bouncing around the grid, trying to find clues that I could at least make an educated guess on. This is where it gets tricky, because sometimes you put in a word that seems right, but it ends up messing you up later on.
- I got stuck on a few clues. Specifically, these were really bothering me:
- A clue about some historical event. I’m so bad at history.
- A clue that wanted some actor’s name. I knew it was familar, but the word just wouldn’t come to my mind!
So, I took a break. Seriously, sometimes you just need to walk away for a few minutes, get a glass of water, and let your brain reset. When I came back, I looked at the puzzle with fresh eyes.
I started working on the intersecting words, using the letters I already had to try and figure out the ones I was missing. It’s like a little puzzle within a puzzle. You chip away at it, one letter at a time.
Finally, after a good amount of thinking, guessing, and erasing, I managed to fill in the last square! It was a good feeling, that sense of accomplishment when you finally crack the code.
It wasn’t easy, and it definitely “pressed hard” on my brain, but I got there in the end. That’s the fun of these crosswords, right? The challenge and the satisfaction of solving them.
